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Adam Perry Lang trained with the world's best chefs before giving up four-star kitchens for the thrill of cooking with just meat and fire. Now he's on a mission to turn everyone into an expert.

In Serious Barbecue, Adam Perry Lang has translated his intimate understanding of culinary technique into easy-to-follow advice to help a nation of backyard cooks unleash the raw power of one of the most flavor-packed cuisines around: American barbecue.

Perry Lang begins by breaking down the fundamentals of barbecue--what tools you'll need to begin, how to master cooking with charcoal and wood, how to choose the perfect grill, and more. Then he takes readers on a trip through the butcher's case, describing exactly what makes each kind of meat special, explaining how to select with the skill of a master, and providing his favorite recipes for almost every available cut of pork, beef, veal, lamb, chicken, and turkey.

These original, mouthwatering recipes, which include step-by-step seasoning instructions and a flip-by-flip grilling or smoking guide, will have amateur and expert cooks firing up their barbecues and enjoying perfect results every time--whether they're impressing a group of friends with Perry Lang's insanely delicious Salt and Pepper Dry-Aged Cowboy-Cut Rib Eye or wowing half the neighborhood with his massive, slow-cooking, succulent "Get a Book" Whole Pork Shoulder. Whatever the recipe, his goal is for everyone to achieve the holy grail of barbecuing: bragging rights.

In his introduction, Lang immediately lays out some confrontational assertions: “Barbecue does not just mean the slow-cooked, smoke perfumed meats of the South. It also means the charred, juicy direct-grilled meats . . . what I’ll call ‘Yankee barbecue.’” He applies himself just as rigorously to this high-heat, backyard grilling as he does the indirect, leisurely methods of traditional barbecue, which leads to a nicely balanced book that may offend some purists but could well become the go-to resource for those who only care about the divine marriage of meat and fire, no matter the form. He goes on to outline the fundamentals in a remarkably thorough manner, covering grill types, differences in smoking woods, and blueprints for marinades, brines, and sauces. Each subsequent chapters focuses on a certain meat, including a discussion of their barbecue-friendly characteristics, tips on selecting the best cuts, and a wealth of recipes that should be comfortable for most dabblers in outdoor cooking. An enlightened guide that cares more about killer food than long-held beliefs. --Ian Chipman

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

I have read enough of this book, to be able to say; "I think it's a great book." I own a lot of barbecue related cookbooks and I have had the great good fortune, as the moderator of BBQForum.com, to have read over 700,000 posts to the forum by BBQ people. So I have been exposed to a lot of barbecue. This is one of the best books, about barbecue and outdoor cooking in general.

In 2005 I did a podcast interview with Adam and I have read his detailed posts to the forum. I have never actually meet Adam in person. However, I know a little bit about Adam. He knows how to cook and not only that, he knows what happens to food when it's cooking and can explain it to you. The book really focuses on layering flavors. So, when people taste food cooked the way he explains it, they are in for taste treats, one after another.

With all my 14 years of daily exposure to the wisdom of some of the top barbecue cooks in the country and all the cookbooks I have read, you would think I would have a good grasp of the situation. But, in reading this book I am learning a lot of new things.

I don't hand out these compliments lightly. This is not just a "low and slow pure barbecue" cookbook but he carries his knowledge of "pure barbecue" (he has won prestigious "pure barbecue" awards to back this up) into all levels of outdoor cooking. There is a lot of direct grilling and indirect smoking information. I don't care if you're an expert cook or a beginner, you will get a lot out of reading this book.

I think that Adam Perry Lang has become the E.F. Hutton of barbecue enthusiasts......when he talks, barbecue people listen.....even a few of the pros! In this book, Adam cuts right to the chase and dispels all of the rhetoric about what is and isn't barbecue and how it should and should not be cooked.

I love the way he builds flavor profiles by layering the ingredients and the steps of the cooking process, using some procedures that many barbecue purists frown on when making barbecue. It's pretty amusing reading the recipes that call for foiling as a step to making good barbecue. Whatever works to make the best barbecue he can, Adams isn't at all bashful about doing it. I like that!

I also love that there is no "I'm a better barbecue cook than you" ego written throughout this book, unlike a couple of those written by a self-titled "dr" of bbq. This book reads like Adam's sitting out on the deck with his feet propped, having a cold one with pals and talking Que. No sarcastic anecdotes here.

With over 100 barbecue related cookbooks in my arsenal as reference and many cooking techniques I thought were pretty sound, Serious Barbecue has me rethinking some of the ways I make barbecue. A must own barbecue book!

I am already a fan of Adam Perry Lang, as I have eaten at his restaurant, Daisy Mays, on numerous occasion and have always loved the food.

I bought Serious Barbecue: Smoke, Char, Baste and Brush Your Way to Great Outdoor Cooking, because both my husband and I love to barbecue. I make my own sauces--and they are miles better than any commercial sauce--but was ready to try some new recipes.

I have flipped through the book and recognize recipes that I have already had at the restaurant--and will definitely make them. Some winners include Short Ribs with Fleur de Sel, sticky drumsticks, and Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Banana and Brown Sugar.

I like the different cooking methods Lang employs, and intend to try all of them this summer.

Keep in mind, however, that many of these recipes take time and many ingredients to make. The short ribs, for instance, require several steps to make. Lang believes the BBQ is best when the ingredients are added in stages--this makes for complex flavors and an unbeatable texture. The ribs first get a mustard moisturizer, then a seasoning blend, next a wrapping mixture, and finally, the finishing dressing.

So you don't cook from his book when you're in a hurry. My plan is to have a few BBQ parties this summer and cook from the book.

If you enjoy BBQ, buy this book! You will be amazed at the difference the proper cooking method and homemade sauces make to your food.

The three most important things to know about this book are the following: (1) the recipes are more complex than the usual barbecue/grilling book, each one is an investment of time.(2) the book includes a mixture of grilling recipes and slow smoked barbecue recipes and either type of recipe is well worth the book.(3) the results are fantastic!

I would prefer to have cooked from the book a little more before posting the review. I have probably made 5-6 recipes from the book, including both barbecue and grilling recipes. But since the recipes have produced uniformly fantastic foods, I am not too worried about extrapolating from my experience to the book in general.

A little more detail on (1).the recipes are a little more work than the usual. What does this mean? It means that most recipes have three steps. The meat is prepared using an injection, marinade, or brine. Then a custom dry rub is applied after brining, then during cooking you will apply a sauce or glaze. Often there is another step during cooking such as wrapping in foil, basting, etc. Making all these various flavor layers/toppings, etc is time consuming and requires a lot of ingredients. However, most of the ingredients are easy to find and easy to assemble, it just takes time so plan ahead. These are not recipes you decide to do 30 minutes before you eat.

(2)A mixture of barbecue and grilling recipes.The book includes a great selection. Most all of the classic slow cooked barbecue meats are covered in this book, pork shoulder, pork butt, brisket, chicken, etc. etc. But for each one, there is a unique touch, slight changes to the classic smoking process that increase complexity and flavor.Read more ›